A reflection on the class discussion

After Tues's class (2/22/2011) coupled with the statement that Francis said about himself in a constant struggle to discover his identity, something clicked in my head that made me realize that I think to a certain extent, we all are on this quest of constantly attempting to ascertain who we are in terms of origin and identity. From my perspective, I always assumed that I was a 100% Pakistani and that was the extent of my background, however deeper thought into the subject made me think for a second of the obvious fact that Pakistan as a country itself is relatively new (only 60 years old) and that my true identity is that I am from the South Asian region, perhaps mixed with Afghan from the North, and slightly even Arab from the Middle East. Now does it really make a difference to understand fully what I am and will it even impact my life greatly, probably not on a day to day basis, however in the scheme of things, it certainly is interesting to learn and find out what different nationalities and peoples that one is comprised of, and it is for that reason that I want to constantly keep finding out more and more of who I am.

TEA Response

TEA gave me a new perspective on picture brides I didn't see in the film, though it may have been because of the difference in location. In the film, the brides were sent to Hawaii where their primary role was to work in the fields with their husbands and then to provide companionship. While there was romance, I felt that in TEA the women actually knew and somewhat loved their husbands before they were married, and so their role was primarily companionship. It is this focus on companionship, rather than the labor issue, that makes it more clear of the brides' actual relationship with their husbands that I felt was a little bit lacking in Picture Bride. Also, the variety of the husbands' backgrounds and the wives' personalities gave a more wholistic view than did the single story of Riyo and her husband.

I enjoyed reading TEA (and not just because we were able to go outside when the weather was so nice) and while I'd love to have TEA be our performance for the APA History showcase I'd still be interested in reading other plays as well. I haven't had much experience with theatre, I've only watched plays/Broadway shows or read some Shakespeare for class, but the last time I was in a play was in elementary school.

Project Proposal

Experimental Film exploring the complex set of relationships between history, humanity, and society today.

Topics to be explored:
War, Peace, Psychology, Corruption, Humanity, Revolution, Nationalism, Imperialism, Colonialism, Nation-building, Religion, Crime, Capitalism, Climate Change, Energy

Secondary sources to be examined (more to be listed as research ensues):
Film:
Che (2008)
The 11th Hour (2007)

Literature:
Cosa Nostra (2004)
Imagined Communities (1983)
Strangers from a Different Shore (1990)
Various works of Philosophy

Timeline (transient):
Now until March 1: ongoing background research and introspective thought
March 1 - March 15: pre-production stage
March 15 - March 21: filming
March 21 - 28: post

Project Proposal

Final Project Proposal

Description:

This project will contain a combination of three artistic components, spoken poetry, dance, and graphic art. I will author a spoken poetry piece, record myself performing the poem, and then compose a choreographed dance set to the words of the poem which will be performed live to the recording on the day of the presentation. I will also create a visual representation of my poem, which I will convert to a digital file and then display on a projector screen as the backdrop of my dance performance. Dance choreography will incorporate elements of Bharatanatyam, and the overall performance should take approximately five minutes. I choose to symbolically utilize three talents I have that are in various stages of development, in order to show my past, present, and future. Visual art is something I have always had an interest in but left behind as a child without any serious attempt to develop my talents in this area. Dance is something I took up instead of art, chose to train seriously in, and am now most familiar with. Spoken poetry is something I have been introduced to recently at college, and will be attempting for the first time; perhaps something I will keep up with in the future. I will use all three mediums to express what I believe is my own culture, and history. I am choosing to do it this way because as I create this project, I expect to find myself along the way, and gain an understanding of myself through the arts. I seek to challenge myself, and understand myself.

Schedule:

February 19-March 5 – Compose spoken poetry piece, practice various ways of reading it, and record a final version.

March 6- March 19 – Choreograph dance to spoken poetry piece and find appropriate costume.

March 20 – March 27 – Practice dance and create visual backdrop for performance.

March 27-? – Continue practicing until performance, including a few run-throughs at the actual place of performance.

Future Plan:

I would like to record my performance on the day of the actual project, and perhaps one other time at another location. This way I can upload my video to youtube, and gain publicity this way. I can also perform this piece after I graduate at cultural programs that I will most likely be asked to participate in.

New Project Proposal

I have changed my mind about my project, here's what I'd like to do instead:

The final project I would like to propose involves working with my hands to create a product that embodies who I am as well as benefitting others. I am interested in knitting a scarf as my final project because it is a visual representation of my history or folklore. I have actually never knitted anything before but I have always been interested in starting up the craft. I have two roommates who are avid knitters and very advanced. At night they relax by creating socks, slippers, mittens, blankets, scarves, and sweaters. I see knitting as a way of bonding with others through the act of physically creating a garment that can be worn. This garment then becomes a physical expression of who I am.

Beginning knitters always start by creating a scarf and that is what I plan to do. I plan to use red yarn to symbolize my Asian heritage. Red is the color of blood, my ancestry, and red is also a color of celebration, acknowledging and glorifying my heritage by eventually wrapping the scarf around my neck – which is a very vulnerable spot on the body. I am interested in working with my hands to create something because of my background as a dancer. I typically just focus on creating art by moving around using my feet, but knitting will allow me to express my artistry using my hands and then wearing it around my body.

My timeline for this project is to first purchase needles and yarn and then get my roommates to teach me the basics, how to knit and purl. I will then have until April to complete the scarf. The length of the scarf will be based on how much time I devote to the project. And I plan to use my newly acquired skill to benefit those in need. I know of different organizations that ask for handmade scarves to hand out to the homeless during the wintertime, as well as to senior citizens. The Special Olympics also asks for handmade scarves to hand out to their athletes. I would like to know that my work benefits others.

Also, when we present our pieces as a group for APA month, the public could wrap my scarf around themselves and then photograph themselves wearing it -- symbolizing them "wearing" my history.

Project Proposal

My idea is to incorporate at least three different forms of art to create a multimedia experience that involves the audience and the performer in a creative discourse about my own family’s personal experiences in America.

The first part will be an audio recording/splicing of interviews with my mother, father, and my older sister, all of whom were born in the Philippines. I want to ask them all questions about where they are now versus then, their experiences in coming and going, what home really means to them, and why remembering the past is so important. I want to remix these ideas into an ambient track that allows the audience to discern individual experiences without detracting from a larger image.

Second, I will make a visual backdrop to the entire thing. I want it to incorporate a lot of words as well as very tactile materials—silk, rice, maybe even crab shells. I’ll approach it as a visual diary—a way of chronicling my own experiences as well as key phrases picked out of the track. After the “performance,” I’m going to invite the audience in to read, examine, and touch the backdrop, in much the same way as Maya Lin encouraged people at her Civil Rights Memorial.

Third, I want to incorporate some sort of movement to go with the entire project as the audio track is recording. I’m a bit scared about this part, and I would be much more comfortable slamming some poetry, but I feel like movement will go with the audio track more than competing for verbal space. I like the idea of branching out as part of the creative experience.

Calendar:

Order of events:

1. Interview with my parents/sister—get audio equipment etc.

2. Purchase art supplies and figure out a way to create a good, sizeable backdrop
3. Remix track together

4. Get started on backdrop

5. After backdrop is finished, create a working dance

I’m not sure about time constraints, but I think if I try to do a stage every two weeks, I’ll be able to work it through.

How to Get the Word Out to the World:

I’ve been involved in a lot of performance art shows, and I think that’s where this fits. I’d like to organize an open mic night venue for performance art—I think I could get a lot of organizations involved with it. I want to see the entire class come together to create a cohesive piece.

Ideas for Personal Project

I think perhaps one of the things that I feel I could do for this class, as a means to connect myself with my past in hopes to gain insight on the future, would be to make a documentary on the lives of 1st generation Asian American Immigrant, specifically hailing from the South Asian region, as that is more personal to my history. I feel that if I express the stories of South Asian Americans trying to reconcile with their cultures they experience at home with the dynamic of their lives outside, it would in turn reveal the struggle I go through to best blends these two worlds into my daily life. I feel that if this was executed through the use of the medium of film, it would best capture the essence of my story in terms of the popular history.

Maya Lin

The documentary on Maya Lin was inspirational. It was very impressive how a 20 year old could be capable of such things. Kind of makes me feel like I am wasting my time and opportunities...

Maya Lin / APA History Month Project Idea

Learning about Maya Lin's story was very inspiring. She was able to convey her own artistic vision into her memorials without making them the focal points, and although she had not experienced firsthand the events for which she was designing memorials, she was able to capture the emotions and individuality of each in symbolic monuments. Recently I have been interested in trying my hand at slam poetry though after listening to Maya Lin's thought processes for her architecture, I am once again drawn back to visual art. I was particularly moved by the way all of her pieces were in some way interactive-- the Vietnam Veteran's wall is not just something to look at, but a process of acceptance. Visitors take the time to research the name and walk along the path until they find the name, and through that journey they can create a true connection with the memorial and have the time to mull over their emotions.

For my final project, I want to create something like Maya Lin's architecture (not necessarily on that scale, though), something that is visually appealing but has a deeper meaning for each viewer as they interact with it because in order to understand one must experience, not just see. But in that respect, I'd like to play with the convention of sight and perception: the act of seeing on a superficial level, and then on a deeper level, seeing the Asian-American experience, how Asian-Americans are perceived in non-Asian-American society, and how I as an Asian-American see the world around me. I want to make my project purely visual so that after viewing it, one can understand through sight alone. I would use mirrors as the backdrop of my project in such a way that they reflect not only the viewer but also each other, and on the mirrors I would also write quotes from books about Asian-Americans and some of my own reflections/poetry.

All I need to buy are the mirrors, since most of the materials for the rest of the art project come from things I already own-- maybe including some old photos of my parents, if I can find some. I will purchase the mirrors before spring break, since I've already found the body-length mirrors I wanted at Target, and then I will construct the piece as I conduct my research. I plan to use Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters and John Okada’s No-No Boy as sources for my research. Both books are fictional works depicting the lives of Asian-Americans: Dogeaters is told by a young Filipina girl named Rio who grows up in the Philippines and then moves to the U.S., while No-No Boy is about a half-Japanese half-American who struggles with his identity when he is imprisoned after resisting the draft during WWII.

This piece is not very mobile and so the work, itself, will not be applicable to the rest of the world, though because it is inherently interactive I hope that at least the viewers will be able to carry away from it a message that there is more than physical attributes that makes me Asian-American and to challenge the commonly biased perception of others.

What I would do...

In order to give back to the nation I came from, I would support the development of the rural and poor areas as well as support the arts. The healing power of the arts is truly magical.

As a result, for my project I plan on working on a collaborative film. Something that captures the essence of where I come from. I choose film because I have experience in making serious as well as lighthearted pieces. Either that or art, I cannot see myself writing a paper.

My project/contribution needs to express me as a person, and only the arts can do justice to what I have to offer

Project Ideas

I want to ask my parents questions and record them (audio) and maybe my sister too. I want to cut together an audio track based on their responses--cutting and pasting, etc. Couple it with a visual backdrop, maybe my own slam poetry interspersed with it? I think the biggest question I want to ask is "where are we now? How did we get here?"

I feel so American right now, and I'm not sure how my parents feel, or my sister. I'm not quite in touch with my Asian heritage--it's always been there, but it's not a big part of who I am, just who my parents are. I want to talk about the spanning-across-the-oceans concept, that we always call the Philippines "home" (as in "going home"), but I've never lived there. My sister and I don't speak anything but English.

I want it to be a complete sensual experience, a work of performance art that melds different disciplines, because I feel like that's what growing up as an Asian American is really about.

In terms of Maya Lin, I'm inspired by her idea of memorializing people, not necessarily events. There's the idea of taking something aesthetically and making it into something that's really pure emotion.

I like that she's motivated by the personal side of history. That's what I want to focus on--the story of the people that made up events.

My parents were in Detroit in the 1980s. The racial tension they experienced (as Asian Americans in a very Anti-Japanese era/place) was so extreme. I grew up in the South.

You see things change and transform. I think my project has to be about transforming from one thing to another and back, half-way meeting up at points. It has to be multimedia, it has to have at least two different aspects to it--just like Maya Lin's memorial to Civil Rights. If this is going to be a memorial to how things have changed, it has to have some form of perpetual, kinetic change in it.

I think it's all about a collection of experiences that make a whole lifetime and future lifetime. It's not static, and it's not something that can be experienced fully by one person. It's about how different things and people interact. What they become. Chemical reactions and emotional counterpoints.

Project Proposal

I know that I want to create a short film and after watching the portrait of Maya Lin I have been inspired to document how other people have affected my history. I think what I really took away from Maya's story is that all the structures she designs and creates are meant to be a personal and private journey of reflection for each individual.


I am already choreographing a dance and I think maybe I will film the reaction of my dancers to the movements they're performing. Choreography is an expression of my own embodiment of all my experiences and it would be interesting to see how my dancers interpret the movements not just physically but verbally.

brainstorm

incorporating history with art

I want to make a short-film, an audio-visual sensory piece, that focuses on the relationship between the past and the present. History and Humanity. Arresting the future by means of the past.

It will be an emotionally thought-provoking work that causes the viewer to feel and to think.

I will begin examining my sources of inspiration

What Would You Do

In order to give back to the nation I came from, I would support the development of the rural and poor areas as well as support the arts

Flute Player Response

I believe that Arn didn't really have a choice whether or not to join the Khmer Rouge. I believe his choice was, do you want to live or die, and he chose to live. I mean look at his life now. He's really making a difference and an impact. I know that he feels guilty and regrets having to help kill people, but I believe he's atoning for his past violence by helping making a difference in the lives of Cambodian musicians.

Response to the Flute Player

Powerful is probably one of the few words that could be used to describe the experience I felt after watching the Flute Player. The mix of tragedy of Arn's haunting childhood experiences with a silver lining of hope that all is better now for Arn as his Master Musician program is taking off, and he has been able to get in contact with many of the old masters of Cambodian music carried through a profound effect onto me. Watching and hearing Arn's story which probably only revealed a surface of what really he experienced, for we can never really know what pains and tribulations he truly endured, was enough to make me realize and aware of an issue that happened in the world; something perhaps which I would have never known or found out about on my own. Perhaps the most moving scene in the Flute Player would have to be the one where we see Arn visiting the memorial field where many of his fellow citizens were executed, and just to envision that moment and what was going on in his mind, since these were his countrymen having injustices done to them by others was very intense. All in all, I look forward to watching the next movie as I hope it will provide me with some revealing insight as well.

Project Proposal

Perhaps my project should focus more on the way history is taught and why I feel excluded from parts of the American timeline simply because my immediate lineage is not involved in it. Is there any way in which I could set up a creative program for Americans to interact with history which they may feel excluded from simply because their skin color or immediate culture does not reflect what has occurred in our collective history?

1. Mission Statement/ Point of Departure

To explore the differences in American history and what ties all of us together with a special focus on the shared history of Asian Americans

à point of departure: what truly separates each individual, how is their personal history a smaller part of a greater schema, how do their emotions, actions and heritage effect every other American? Is there a spiritual journey which mirrors the historical facts of American history? How do I tap this spirit and see how it wraps around Asian American film? A creative film project which would be shown at a series of random areas to help educate and change perspectives.

àQuestions to answer: Who am I? How do I encounter history?

2. Master Calendar

February: Begin filming

March 1-8: write narration and begin to edit film material

March 10-22: come up with formal presentation of the film and how this concocted project could be implemented in today’s society

April: presentation

3. Post Completion

This project will fit into a life-long study of humans, their social interactions as well as the shared history of all Americans. To effect change, you must first change people and in order to do that, the mentality and mindset of each “individual” heritage must be laid to rest if cultural unity will every overcome the common American. We must stop thinking of ourselves as separate pieces of a whole pie

à also the effect that this education will have on my life will change my perspective and the way I treat/look at other people from different backgrounds from myself.

The Flute Player Response

I was very interested when I first heard the title of the documentary because my great uncle was a famous flute player, as well, though he was Vietnamese and his flute was one which was played sideways, known as “The Magic Flute.” I do not know much about his history, and only recently have some websites about his life and work began to emerge on the internet. When my mom and her family immigrated from Vietnam to the US, they were not able to bring many personal mementos—to my knowledge I have never seen a picture of her in Vietnam before, and it is very similar in The Flute Player. Arn says that he hopes their arts, their music, would become the “international signature of Cambodia,” because it is part of an oral tradition that cannot be destroyed as with documents and photographs.

But while it may be difficult to destroy the intangible folklore, such oral traditions are easily forgotten, as seen through the interviews with the young people who say most of their friends don’t see it as being “cool” so they don’t learn. I find it almost ironic that it was the Khmer Rouge who protected musicians, not for benevolent reasons, of course, but in trying to promote propaganda, they preserved the traditional instruments that would have otherwise been destroyed along with other artists and works.

Response to The Flute Player

Art is dangerous. It's power, it's a way for people to communicate their passion and ideas to other people in a way that escapes most conventional means of containment.

Arn's story just proves that no matter how hard anyone tries, you can't suppress art. You can't suppress the self-expression of the individual.

The film was about survival, but it was also about what you do after you survive. Most war stories like this seem to deal with what the person goes through and how they get out of whatever hell they were placed in. Arn's story was different. It was about what you should do once you survive. In a way, it negates the idea of "survivor's guilt," because Arn chose to help other people, to protect and encourage art to flourish in Cambodia. Almost his entire family was killed because they were seen as a threat to the Khymer Rouge's ideals. Arn encouraging traditional art is a way of keeping their legacy alive.

The Flute Player

A truly touching film told in a most realistic manner, without any special effects or high budget. The emotions shone through. Every single character had that hint of sadness when they spoke about he past.

It was an eye opening look at how people deal with not only tragedy, but also a fall from fame. As a 20 year old in today's society, I can surely say that my best days/ most successful days are still ahead of me and that the future looks bright. I have no idea how I would be able to live if I was 25, and knew that my most successful days happened when I was 17 years old, and now I am destined for oppression and field work.

All the masters and Arn demonstrate the endurance of the human spirit, as well as a comfort of coming to terms with who they are. It is a journey every smart human being who questions his/her existence faces, but for some people with a rich and tragic past it is undoubtedly tougher to make the journey.

The Flute Player

Arn expresses his wish for culture, art, and music to represent Cambodia rather than the killing fields that bare such horrible memories; articulating this relationship between folklore and "official history"

This documentary was so emotionally compelling and thought-provoking.
To see these artists who, overnight, had their entire lives turned upside down and destroyed, one can't help to feel moved.
The Master who went from the nation's opera star, to a begging for food.

Music is a voice to express feelings and pains that words cannot.

The Flute Player-Cambodian Notes of Strength

The Flute Player was an incredibly stirring, dramatic work of film that made its audience realize the importance of music and art in spite of a history that is so clouded in despairing recent history. Cambodia has been recently known for the rise of a vicious political leader in the 1970's which produced "The Killing Fields", from which spawned a period of corruption and death which nearly wiped out music as well as any flame of hope for Cambodian future.

Arn, an artist who lived during this desperate time, found me in my comfortable American seat and took hold of my interest and my heart as he gradually shared his mission of hope and art so that the horrendous events which stained his childhood can be atoned for and somehow given a purpose in a new Cambodia.

POV is Arn and the film was shot as if it was in Arn's mind- he didn't make the film, also the film was not shot from the poverty perspective and was very forgiving concerning the quality of life for the people who were being interviewed about the killing fields and their musicality.

What would you do? ("I do this to keep me sane, If I didn't do this what would I live for?")

In my life, the question isn't necessarily what keeps me sane, but what doesn't keep me sane. I live because of life's stimulation on my person and my reaction to that. I couldn't live without many different tiny things not just one thing as proposed in the question. If I just lived for one thing, what would happen to me if that one thing suddenly vanished?

Question to ask myself: By understanding Arn's point of view how can I make a difference in my culture or heritage?

Arn struggled to create a new world amongst the ruins of his countries history which has inspired me to at least learn about my heritage if not change it so that I have the knowledge to move on and create something greater.

Folklore/3rd World Cinema

In light of what we talked about in class, my earlier dissatisfaction with Picture Bride not addressing historical context is no longer applicable as Picture Bride is to be viewed as 3rd World Cinema. While I still have some minor issues with the narrative, I did enjoy the movie overall.

As for 3rd Cinema, I wondered if there was such a thing as global popular memory, since popular memory was intrinsically linked to culture and location, and for an idea to be accepted on a global scale would mean that it was official history. It was interesting, then, to learn that folklore is a process, rather than a product as I had previously thought. Marginalized people seek to improve their conditions through folklore, through word of mouth and music, even to the clothes they wear, in order to turn their popular memories into official history. There is a saying that history is written by the winners but with folklore and mythology, history can be re-written by those once marginalized.

Social Networking and History

I believe social networking (such as Facebook) is currently "popular memory"/folklore opposed to offical history, but social networking could someday be the basis for official history. I have archaeology professors who consider blogs/e-mail/social networking as future sources of historical data to be sifted through and interpreted. I think it all depends on who is determining what is relevant "history" -- will they consider messages by a politician more seriously than an artist?

Facebook has created a social revolution on the internet, so even though it's printed/published text it is more tied to popular memory than official history because the internet is not a fixed center. It allows personal expression by everyone, not just the government. But I wonder if power (to write history) is now more controlled by corporations/private businesses rather than national governments?

Response to Types of History

I am writing this blog to respond to what we covered today in class (2/8/2011), which basically was that definition and purpose of the two different kinds of history, official written and popular memory. The interesting lecture/discussion that ensued today over the differences between each, their necessary existence within societies, and what attributes that exist within each. I was shocked to discover all the different kinds of things that could be classified as popular under the folklore category. Basically anything created in an attempt to save a certain moment/time in the present can later be referred back in the future as a part of folklore, saving that particular part of history. This concept then got me thinking of all the things in my past that I will perhaps pass on to the future generations, which may constitute into my own personal history relating to my lineage and my origins. The portrayal that the two kinds of history although very different, are intimately intertwined in their role in an individual's life makes for a very interesting and rich combination, as the two perfectly complement each other.

My only question would be then: is this blog also a form of folklore?

Picture Bride & 3rd Cinema

If Picture Bride is supposed to represent Third World Cinema, then I would categorize it in Phase III, the combative phase where the theme documents the "lives and struggles of Third World peoples" (33). But I would still say that there is a Hollywood influence because of "the happy ending" formula of the film. In the end Riyo accepts her fate of home as Hawaii and the ending shot is of the sugarcane fields, green leaves rustling, haunted by ghosts of the past and yet the singing is from Riyo's daughter which suggests a continuation...

How does this film empower Third World peoples? Perhaps by giving Asian Americans a presence on the big screen. Or maybe by taking the "otherness" out of Asian immigrants and seeing their transition to adopting to the new land (without the mention of America).

I personally liked the film and didn't mind the ghost references because it was mentioned throughout the movie (the wind, ancestor worship). Although I did feel there was a disconnect between Riyo and her husband and I expected her to run off with someone else rather than stay with him.

Passing Through - Why Am I Here?

Nathan Adolfson's "Passing Through" highlights many important issues regarding the Asian American experience. Adolfson's first person narrative was powerful in showing the progression of his internal conflicts as he discovers that he was adopted.

Picture Bride Response (pt 2)

I was a bit surprised by the ending of Picture Bride because I felt all of the issues were resolved too quickly for proper development. I understand that Riyo became more intimate with her husband when she shared the secret of her past--her parents both died from TB--but it didn't seem to me that he reacted in any way that would make him more attractive. In fact, he said his parents wouldn't have arranged the marriage, had they known, and he pulls away from her that night. Also, I wish the film would have developed the metaphor of the centipede and the Portuguese boss. Through Riyo's singing, I see she is finally cooperating with the strike idea, though I feel the centipede metaphor that had figured more prominently in the beginning was rather lost among all of the wrap-ups by the end. That is not to say I didn't enjoy the movie. I found it to be a very interesting movie, but it romanticizes the idea of picture brides much more than the reality Takaki portrays in his novel. From the two cases we see, Kana and Riyo, despite the superficial arguments, their relationships are very good. I would imagine not all brides get along with their new husbands so well, and I felt the movie only scratches the surface of the darker aspects: exploiting racial relations, immigrant labor, prostitution, and picture brides.

Ending Reaction to Picture Bride

Today in class, an interesting point was brought up about the ending of Picture Bride and over the division of the scene where Kana appears to reveal to Riyo that there is nothing in Japan that Riyo has to return for. Now although I don't want my situation to seem like it fits into a perfect case study of why the effect of that scene didn't sink in well with me, however I do think there is some particular reason why that scene stood out to me and was something that I wasn't accustomed to seeing before in cinema. This is most likely perhaps due to the fact that I have been conditioned by Hollywood cinema to follow a certain format in which a story is told, and too different from the conventional path would certainly throw me off and make it hard for me to accept.

Having said that, and realizing my own position that I am coming from, I do want to say that although I am aware that in 3rd cinema, the message will be delivered through any means possible with no regard to the impact on the audience, I personally feel like there may have been a better way for Riyo to have had the revelation that there is nothing in Japan for her and that Hawaii was her home now. The saying, "less is more" stands true for this situation, in that if Riyo had learned the revelation in a less obvious and more subtle manner, the effect may have been more effective on me, as an audience manner.

Picture Brides

This was truly a piece of work (In a good way). It not only tackles coming-of-age, but sets it in a historical era that is very specific. I was not even aware that they shipped in brides to Hawaii until watching this film.

Now, about the film itself:

At the very start I wasn't drawn in, mainly because I couldn't relate to the characters situation. However, with each passing minute the film got more interesting. I was really drawn in when we stopped watching it on Wednesday and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. After all, the acting is fine. I thought the character of Kana played her part extremely well. The lead character was a bit tougher to assess. At certain times I thought she was holding back but all in all still very masterful.

However, I strongly feel that the one scene where Kana appears as a ghost killed the seriousness as well as impact of the film as I couldn't take it seriously anymore. I think the makers should have found another way to produce the same effect.

Other than that flaw, I felt that I definitely got a feel for what the picture brides' life was like.

Picture Bride: The End etc.

Problems I had with the ending:

1. It was really random and abrupt: Like, all of a sudden, you get a random voice-over at the very end about how Riyo is all grown up and talking about Hawaii being her home.

2. The ghost scene: Totally ruined any legit historical background that the movie might have had. It was really random, and it made no sense at all.

3. The dance festival was really awkward: Sure, it served the purpose of putting Riyo and her husband together at the very end, but a more moving ending would definitely have been just the floating lantern scene.

4. Riyo's character shift seemed really annoying: Why did Riyo suddenly feel the urge to not only tell her husband about her parents, but then also magically fall in love with him once he changed his attitude towards her? How did running away from him, then seeing him drunk magically make him seem attractive?

Things I loved about the ending:

1. The floating lantern scene: Definitely the best scene in the entire movie. Evocative, in terms of Japanese culture, and also it served to give us a real resolution in terms of Riyo's grieving and her relationship with her husband.

2. When Riyo seems to finally mature: The whole singing thing was a bit odd, but also a "yay!" moment, because she seemed to finally be accepted as a viable worker.

...There really isn't much else. I don't want to say that I wanted a nice picture-book, Hollywood ending, because I feel like that's what the movie was trying to do (what with the cheesy voice-over ending). I just wish it had maintained its spirit of historical accuracy and also didn't try to magically repair the relationship Riyo had with her husband in all of 15 minutes.

Picture Bride Response

"Picture Bride" was a great film choice to juxtapose with Takaki. Takaki tended to gloss a little over the negativity of the Japanese picture brides--if only because their fate was relatively painless, in comparison to their Chinese prostitute counterparts.

However, as sympathetic as I feel towards Riyo, I can't help but get annoyed with her as well--at the beginning of the movie, especially. Then again, I suppose Riyo would have been an oddity: a city girl going over to work in the fields of Hawaii.

Additionally, the awkwardness/hatred Riyo feels for her new husband seems a bit unwarranted. Sure, he lied about his picture, but he seems to be trying his hardest to make her feel comfortable. She doesn't give him anything, even when he tries to be romantic. Asking an older Asian man, especially in that time period, to be romantic is asking a lot.

Then again, Riyo is supposed to be quite young--eighteen, I think? At eighteen, I think everyone is still a little immature. Combined with her romantic streak, I'm sure her husband was incredibly disappointing.

I wonder what the average age was for women who came over as picture brides?

Picture Bride Response

"Picture Bride" was a great film choice to juxtapose with Takaki. Takaki tended to gloss a little over the negativity of the Japanese picture brides--if only because their fate was relatively painless, in comparison to their Chinese prostitute counterparts.

However, as sympathetic as I feel towards Riyo, I can't help but get annoyed with her as well--at the beginning of the movie, especially. Then again, I suppose Riyo would have been an oddity: a city girl going over to work in the fields of Hawaii.

Additionally, the awkwardness/hatred Riyo feels for her new husband seems a bit unwarranted. Sure, he lied about his picture, but he seems to be trying his hardest to make her feel comfortable. She doesn't give him

Picture Bride Response

The main character of Picture Bride, Riyo, is one of those Japanese migrants Takaki describes in his book, Strangers From A Different Shore. Riyo leaves Japan voluntarily to start a new life because of the stigma of her parents death. She is looking for a fresh start in Hawaii but soon discovers it will take a lot of hard work and her husband is not the young man she thought she was marrying. The fear Riyo feels about sexual intimacy is visually portrayed by two scenes: one in which a caterpiller is wiggling in the petals of an orchid and another time when a caterpiller is wiggling its way underneath Riyo's clothes. Using Barthes explanation of these two film images the denotation is just a flower or a caterpiller, but the connotation is conveyed by close-ups of the caterpiller and flower thus leading the viewer to grasp the human emotion of Riyo's fear of sex with her husband.

When Riyo arrives in Hawaii, we can already see she is different from the other Japanese women in the waiting room because Riyo is the only one dressed in Western garb: skirt and blouse. The other new arrivals are dressed in kimonos. The filmmaker appears to be showing that even educated "city girls" from Japan made the migration to Hawaii, it wasn't just farmers. Takaki writes that Emperor Meiji wanted Japanese women to go abroad because "Japan would 'benefit by the knowledge thus acquired'" (48). Riyo's migration and adaptation to life on a sugar plantation in Hawaii shows one way Japanese-Americans became a permanent part of this new land.

Picture Bride Response (pt 1)

Keeping true to what Takaki wrote in Strangers from a Different Shore, Picture Bride is deft at portraying the racial tensions between the Filipinos and the Japanese, especially with the payday scene where discrepancies in payment are used to pit the two ethnic groups against one another. Also, Takaki wrote that the sugar cane owners viewed themselves as having a “moral purpose” to “emancipate the natives” from their slave-like conditions of labor. In Picture Bride, white Americans—whether it is the woman for whom Kana and Riyo do laundry or the plantation manager—are similarly portrayed as being benevolent. The woman is genuinely concerned for Kana and Riyo’s welfare, offering to them cold drinks and inquiring as to their relationships with their husbands. Likewise, the manager prevents the Portuguese boss from using physical force against the women laborers. In reality and in Picture Bride, however, the immigrants still work under harsh conditions with meager income. As it is directed by a Japanese woman and it focuses on the struggles of Japanese immigrant laborers, I would have expected there to be more bias in the portrayal of the plantation owners who seem to exploit their labor, but I will have to finish the film before I can assert this for certain.

Response to Picture Bride

The "Picture Bride" was perhaps the best movie choice to watch in conjunction with our Takaki readings because complement each other perfectly. The movie provided me with a visual and motion picture representation of the stories told by Takaki of the immigrants and their struggle when they arrived to Hawaii. The film depicted their life styles and the hard toils of their labor, putting into prospective how much they actually made, and how little they were surviving on, which is essentially what Takaki writes in his passages. I enjoyed how the film was able to show all the preserved history as well as relay a story as well so effectively, as I found myself engaged in the story line as well.

My only question that I had during the movie was that: What was the significance of the centipede crawling into the fields, and juxtaposing the shots of the guy in charge at the plantation?

Takaki

The beauty of Takaki comes from infusing history with personal experience, so the reader is not only getting the facts, but the emotions that go along with these facts. I can only imagine what it must feel like to come through to a land where you try to make a better life, only to find that you are being treated horribly.

I was also unaware of the facts, I thought Asians really didn't start to immigrate to America until the 1970s or 1980s. Just imagine my shock and surprise when I found out it was over a hundred years earlier!

It also opened my eyes to the continuous American treatment of immigrants. This cycle of fighting illegal immigrants is a vicious cycle that has been going on for hundreds of years. America has no problems taking advantage of these immigrants for labor but does not want to give them citizenship. It happened with the Africans, Asians, and now Latinos. Even though these races have been woven into the racial and cultural cloth of America, the "white-superiority" mentality still remains active in the minds of many people.

Response to Takaki

Last semester, I was in a debate class that focussed on immigration as a topic for the entire semester. We had to discuss things like quotas, anchor babies, and illegal immigration. We thought we were discussing new problems.

Takaki definitely opened my eyes. Illegal immigration isn't a new thing at all. I feel like Americans have never really wanted any immigrants staying in America, just working there. In fact, Hawaii seemed to be the only place that was remotely tolerant of immigrants, and the people in charge seemed to be more interested in "saving" the Asian foreigners in a religious way (sort of like Rudyard Kipling's "White Man's Burden").

In general, the treatment of women struck me as particularly gruesome. I find it odd that American immigration seems to always focus on "crimes of moral turpitude" (like bigamy, etc), but only allowed Asian women to enter the country as prostitutes. I suppose it was a population control thing. Prostitutes rarely want to become pregnant.

I wonder if those prostitutes were restricted to Chinese men? Did American men ever take advantage of them?

Takaki Response

While reading Takaki, it surprised me how many people went to the U.S. with the intent of someday returning home. Even though most migrants were escaping poverty or oppressive regimes and hoping to make their fortunes in America, it was in order to take back those riches to their home countries. Many Asians—Chinese “men [who] thought they would be gone only temporarily”, Japanese “migrants [who] promised they would return to Japan,”, and Asian Indians who wanted “to make money and then return to the Punjab,”—moved to America with memories of their homelands fresh in their minds. I wondered why, if they were escaping such harsh conditions at home, they would ever consider leaving America where they were to make their fortunes later on. Reading about the cruel, slave-like conditions under which the Asian migrants worked and about the discrimination they faced upon their arrival only added to my wondering.

Through primary sources such as the poetry depicting their loneliness, however, I was better able to understand Takaki’s classification of Asian-Americans as “strangers,” and hypothesize why laborers were willing to take on such harsh working conditions. Asian migrants were displaced from their homes because of poverty and isolated by their ethnicity in America, and I think it is because of this alienation that they decided to remain in America: work was the only thing over which they had control, and money was the only tangible means of measuring how close they were to fulfilling their hopes.

Response to Takaki

After reading Takaki, a rush of emotions filtered through me due to the wide range and subject matter that was written in the material. However for the sake of time and space, I will only focus on a particular part that perhaps stood out to me the most and this was the manipulation tactics employed by the colonists. They were very cleverly devised and played with the emotions and psychology of the workers, but obviously when the goal was ultimate control and maximize of free labor, I don't think that was much on their mind anyway. It was interesting to read all the different reasons so many diverse groups of people were brought to America, only for exploitation and work purposes mainly. The colonists were only concerned with exerting labor from these people, however although it wasn't slavery, Takaki writes that it was almost as bad if not worse. Thus reading the article really shocked me and revealed the true extent of human nature and its ability to manipulate others for their own personal gains. The purpose of all the different kinds of individuals was literally only so that no one minority would become too strong and form a union and rebel. Now however, my final thoughts on the issue were a little different from the standard and I began to divulge on the following: although the initial intentions of the minorities being brought here were wrong and not for the right reasons, years later we can look back and appreciate their labor and struggles, as it definitely is a reason for the diversity here in the US now.

Response to Takkakki

I'm Here Because.../Passing Through Reflection

I'm here to gain an understanding of what film has to offer in terms of how to

Asian Greeks: To be Unique, and to Belong to a Group

THE DAILY BRUIN ONLINE  5/21/2001 Founding Sisters Asians and Pacific Islanders have long been a part of UCLA history, though they often had to fight for that role University Archives Members of Chi Alpha Delta, UCLA's first Asian American sorority, dress up for tea time in 1937. By Marjorie Hernandez Daily Bruin Reporter When Doris Aiso Hoshide began her first year at UCLA in 1929, she was looking for some direction. A new student in a new campus, Hoshide and other women wanted to join sororities, but were not allowed to join because of their Japanese American heritage. "We were more or less on our own, trying to get adjusted to the campus," she said. "We were absolutely strangers during that first year." Since the Panhellenic Constitution did not allow Asians in Greek organizations, Hoshide and other Japanese women decided to take matters into their own hands.

Asian Greek: Founding Sisters and Brothers

THE DAILY BRUIN ONLINE  5/21/2001 Founding Sisters Asians and Pacific Islanders have long been a part of UCLA history, though they often had to fight for that role   University Archives Members of Chi Alpha Delta, UCLA's first Asian American sorority, dress up for tea time in 1937. By Marjorie Hernandez Daily Bruin Reporter When Doris Aiso Hoshide began her first year at UCLA in 1929, she was looking for some direction. A new student in a new campus, Hoshide and other women wanted to join sororities, but were not allowed to join because of their Japanese American heritage. "We were more or less on our own, trying to get adjusted to the campus," she said. "We were absolutely strangers during that first year." Since the Panhellenic Constitution did not allow Asians in Greek organizations, Hoshide and other Japanese women decided to take matters into their own hands. They decided to pool their resources and create an environment where incoming Japanese American students could turn for guidance and a source for information. Under the support of former University Dean of Women Helen M. Laughlin, the 14 charter members took on the official name of Chi Alpha Delta, which was recognized as a sorority on April 5, 1929. Before its establishment at the current UCLA campus, the sorority was called the "A.O. Society" on the former Vermont Campus in Santa Monica. Although Japanese women students began attending the university in 1922, the formation of Chi Alpha Delta was the first attempt to formally organize as a sorority. But gaining recognition in the Greek system was not easy. "During my years at UCLA, there was much discrimination on the campus,'"said Kim Hoshide, 1929 graduate and Chi alumna, in a 1994 letter. "Chi Alpha Delta was refused membership in the Panhellenic Congress, therefore, we became a member of the Campus Women Houses." Japanese students largely socialized within their own groups, according to Hoshide. Most Chi social events were conducted with the Bruin Club, the only Japanese men's club at UCLA. Members also participated in tea parties, dances, hikes and trips with other Japanese students from USC. Though she said she first objected the sorority system, Chi Alpha Delta alumna Aki Yamazaki decided to join the only Asian sorority along with her friends, and later became its president in 1942. But anti-Asian sentiments continued to hinder the sorority and its members. According to Yamazaki, who was a second-generation Japanese American, Asian groups were not allowed to have housing near campus. "We weren't accepted – everything was closed to us," Yamazaki said. "None of the Asian groups had housing. Asians just weren't allowed to own property and real estate." During Yamazaki's years at UCLA, the sorority was still unable to secure a position in the Panhellenic Society. Despite these restrictions, though, Chi Alpha Delta still appeared in the Southern Campus yearbooks. "When we looked at the annual, there we were, even if we never participated with the other sororities," she said.   University Archives The Pilipino Bruin Club, which was established in 1930, comes together at a banquet, celebrating their heritage. According to Yamazaki, no written part of the Panhellenic constitution restricted Asian Americans from joining the Greek society. As war broke out in December 1942, Yamazaki and 175 Japanese American students and their families were sent to internment camps throughout the country. Just 16 units short of graduating with a bachelors degree in dietetics, Yamazaki was forced to leave her studies and was sent to a temporary camp at the Santa Anita race track. "It was a shock," she said. "You don't expect anything like that. Since you are a citizen, you don't expect to be carted off to a concentration camp. If you had a drop of Japanese blood, you were taken in." Chi Alpha Delta was effectively inactive during the Evacuation Period of 1942 to 1945, but was reorganized in September 1946. Fifty years after her studies were abruptly interrupted, Yamazaki was retroactively awarded her B.A. degree in dietetics in 1992. Even though the end of World War II marked the end of internment of Japanese Americans, members of the Asian American community still encountered hardships in American society. When third-generation Japanese American Margaret Ohara entered UCLA as a freshman in 1958, she was placed in a difficult predicament. According to archive records, Ohara was awarded the $200 Panhellenic scholarship for being the most well-rounded student from her senior class. But Ohara was unprepared for the shock she was about to receive. "To her surprise, she was the only Asian woman present in the Sunday Tea gathering, which consisted of Caucasian women," according to the 1995 archive report. Ohara quickly realized that she was mistaken for an Irish woman because they thought her last name was O'Hara. Although records indicated that the Greek panel "regretted that the woman they chose could not be invited to join any of the Greek society," Ohara decided to organize a second Asian sorority on campus. From her desire to create a sorority that would "give the opportunity for an Asian woman to select as they do on the Greek row," Ohara and eight charter members organized the framework for Theta Kappa Phi. On June 5, 1959, Theta Kappa was recognized as the second Asian sorority at UCLA. Asian fraternities soon followed with the formation of Omega Sigma Tau in1966 and Lambda Phi Epsilon in 1981. Other non-Greek Asian organizations, however, started their own groups on-campus. The co-ed Japanese Nisei Bruin Club reorganized in 1945, while the co-ed Chinese group also organized Epsilon Pi Delta in 1943. Because of the amount of technicalities involved, members of Chi Alpha Delta decided to not peruse membership into the Panhellenic society, and instead joined the UCLA Asian Greek Council along with Theta Kappa Phi sorority, and Lambda Phi Epsilon and Omega Sigma Tau fraternities. One of the oldest Asian American organizations on campus, the Pilipino Bruin Club formed in 1930 and began to "promote good fellowship among themselves and the students of other nationalities," according to the 1931 Southern Campus yearbook. Although appearing in the yearbooks, little recorded information is known about the formation of these earlier student groups. Nevertheless, current groups such as the Nikkei Student Union, the Chinese Student Union and Samahang Pilipino continue the traditions of fostering relationships among members and learning about their culture, while contributing to the community and fighting for social causes. "These organizations reflect a lot of the work our ancestors and alumni have done in raising the consciousness of our members and giving them outlets to get involved and give back to the community," said Samahang Pilipino President Merrick Pascual. According to the UCLA Campus Profile Web site, Asian/Pacific Islanders make up 33.4 percent of students, while Pilipino enrollment is 4.6 percent. As alumni look back at the turbulent start of the first Asian groups at UCLA, many still recall fond memories and the camaraderie they formed with fellow members. "It was a very important to get to know one another those first years," Hoshide said. "Being a Japanese American during that time was tough and we wanted to bring support to each other. We all had a place to go to complain about any discrimination or whatever was on our minds."

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